US Q2 GDP revised downward, confirming shaky recovery

27 August 2010 15:01[Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS)--The Commerce Department on Friday said that US gross domestic production (GDP) in the second quarter was less than first estimated, revising the Q2 economic measure down to a 1.6% annual growth rate from the original 2.4%.

The 1.6% GDP rate for the second quarter followed a far more robust 3.7% expansion reported for the first quarter and the strong 5.6% growth rate recorded in the fourth quarter last year when the economic recovery was getting started.

The department said the 0.8-point reduction in second quarter GDP from the initial estimate of 2.4% on 30 July was due to more recent data showing a sharp acceleration in US imports and a decline in private inventory investment.

Those negative factors were only partly offset by some gains in the housing sector and in commercial property investments, the department said.

In April, the ?xml:namespace>US tax credit stimulus programme for the housing sector was in its final month and was responsible for an upturn in home sales that has largely collapsed since then.

The department said that increased spending by federal, state and local governments during the second quarter also was insufficient to overcome downward pressure exerted by the decline in inventory investment and the sharp rise in imports.